Chapter 82

“…that's right. Perhaps, this is just a dream?”

Lafetti seemed to share Zarda's thoughts and asked.

“I’m not certain, actually. After all, not only have I perfectly remembered the details of that dream, I lived that life. In that world, I go through various experiences and learn a lot of things every day. Therefore, rather than calling it a dream, it’s more like a memory of mine,”

Rain smiled bitterly. Damn it. This is not how the script should go! And why are they so sure that this is just a dream? Shouldn't they doubt it first?

“And besides…this is the proof,”

He then pulled his Smartphone, that both Zarda and Lafetti had already been accustomed to.

“It’s originally not a Magic Item. And in that world, we call it a Phone. Smartphone to be exact. This is a device, made not out of magic like a Magic Item but based on modern science and technology. It’s a device commonly used to connect people no matter how far they are apart. Though, for some unknown reason, when I woke up, it was now different…becoming a strange magical item. Being able to channel magic power. But I’m guessing that it must have an influence on my coming into this world,”

Zarda and Lafetti glanced at each other, clearly not yet believing what he was saying. However, they didn't want to directly deny it, less had a fear of hurting him. Still, this is truly a hard-to-believe story. There are too many inconsistencies that contradict what Rain claimed. They even have proof of it. But not like they can point those out, less they would create another problem. One that they have been avoiding desperately.

“Then, what do you want to say, Rain?”

“What I’m saying is, if what that dream meant is real, then I don’t have anywhere else to go. But here.”

Zarda’s brows twitched, while Lafetti’s eyes widened. They stared at him with an incredible expression, as they suddenly realized where he was coming from.

“Rain,”

“I know,”

Rain cut Lafetti off.

“And I think you’re worried about something, and that certainly is something to do with me meeting other people. But I will still stand in my words that day, that I will never leave you…the tribe is my family and no matter what happens, I won’t turn back on my words and betray you. This is my home now. My one and only Home. Something that is very important for me. I will always be here, and I will spend my life together with you,”

“…so you noticed?”

Zarda smiled wryly.

“Well, I may be dense in some aspect, but at the very least, I still have some heart to feel. So yeah, I noticed.” Rain sigh.

“Ever since my encounter with humans, you and the others have been at the edge. You might have tried to conceal it, but it’s crystal clear for me,”

Zarda giggled, “Was it that obvious?”

“Pretty much.”

“So this is your way of removing our fears?”

Even to the point of creating such a funny story...?

They completely didn't believe him.

“It’s a weak attempt, but what I said is the truth. So, if possible, I don’t want you to keep living on fear of something that would never happen,” he said as he reached out his hands and gripped the two Lamians hands.

Lafetti holds his hand back, and Zarda did as well. However, there’s a hidden expression behind her gaze. She didn’t doubt his words and believe him wholeheartedly. She doesn’t believe Rain would lie to her, especially in matters like this. However, although she doesn’t know what his dreams meant, or whether it was indeed the truth about the life he had lived in that dream, nevertheless, Zarda didn’t share the same feeling of relief as Lafetti did.

After all, that Mark on his back was not an illusion, nor was it intentionally made by someone. It’s clearly a Birth Mark. And whether it was a coincidence or not, once the humans saw it, and recognize it, they will surely take him back…no matter what happens.

That kind of Mark bears that much importance…and significance to humans. Especially those humans from the Delouria Kingdom.

Even still, why did Rain believe that he came from another world?

Judging from the fact that it came from him, and even claiming that it was the truth... could it be that he was telling the truth and that he truly believes that he came from another world? Wait, if that's the case, if we take these memories into account, then many things would come together.

Just like how he was so knowledgeable despite not knowing this world’s common sense and logic. How he was able to easily do something that is, yet done by people in this world-

And most of all, how he easily accepted us despite our form and race. Because he wasn’t tainted with this world’s values and unreasonable beliefs that discriminate against us and gave us a wicked form.

He has his own values- one that is not prejudiced by rumors and hearsays.

However, if he did come from another world, why did he come into this world? And how? Summoned people can only be called by Summoners using an incredible amount of Magic Power, enough to destroy a single kingdom. And Zarda didn't notice anything weird, or any strange and huge activities of Magic Power before that had signaled his arrival into this world.

... Not to mention, Hero Summoning Spell, similar to those found in Legends and Myths is already considered a Lost Magic.

No…if it’s ‘that’ Kingdom, then perhaps they have some records from the Ancient times, enough to cast the Summoning spell. The Kingdom that was created alongside the very first Great Hero. But if that’s the case, why did Rain appear in the Desolate Cave?

If he was summoned here, he should have awakened inside the Kingdom, not in this dangerous place.

There are many possibilities… but I’m still concerned about that mark. That can’t be a coincidence. It’s too much for such a coincidence to occur. And he said that there is no magic in the other world... so what is the story about the mark of the Monster King? Even Threia said that the mark of the Monster King had been there for a long, long time, that it had already integrated into his soul.

If the other world in his dream doesn't have any magic or monsters- where did the Monster King who gave him that mark come from?

As I thought, I can't believe it.

It must be just a dream or some kind of memories from a previous life... would be much more believable, than him being transported into this world.

"What does the other world look like?"

“…the other world? Well, I guess it’s much different from this one. High-rise buildings made of concrete. Just like the images, you have seen on my phone, wagons that move without a horse or creatures, we call it cars…”

Zarda stared at Rain who was chatting with Lafetti and felt even more confused. Whatever the case may be, she still can’t let Rain meet those humans. Especially that Princess. If ever that human girl saw his Mark, she would surely drag him out of here!

Rain's uniqueness can be proven by two Monster Kings including her. That cunning princess would surely cling to this to drag him into her side. Whether it is true or not, he would be marked as a person from the Kingdom!

And if what Rain claimed was true after all, perhaps, he was not as simple as someone who had come from another world…

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… … …

Rain knelt in a bed of trampled reed grass and scanned the tracks with a practiced eye.

"Hmm, it's been here,"

The prints told him that the prey he was seeking had been in the meadow only a half-hour before. Soon they would bed down. His target, a deer-like magical beast called crystal horn deer that inhabited the Gwarm Swamp. It's a place located at the north-western part of the Desolate Cave. It's a swamp where magical beasts that looked like a hybrid of a duck, crocodile, and a lizard in between, called [Gwarm] lives. Hence, it was called the Gwarm Swamp.

This was Rain’s new hunting place. For some reason, he was forbidden to hunt and play around the usual place. Zarda said that a powerful monster seemed to be sighted around that area; hence it would be dangerous for him at the moment. Or something like that, which he completely does not believe.

Well, not like, it does matter anyway. As long as he can play around, he doesn’t care about the place. He likes running around, fighting, and hunting—it makes him somewhat free, alive.

With his newfound power, he found solace and excitement inside the forest. It’s as if he was like a wolf back in his home ground.

The forest was quiet. If the slight afternoon breeze stirred the tall oaks and trees and cut the day’s heat while rustling the leaves only slightly. Birds who would raise a raucous chorus at sunrise and sundown were mostly quiet at this time of the morning. The faint tang of rock salt mixed with the sweet smell of flowers and the pungency of decaying leaves.

With a single arrow, Rain accurately hits the small deer’s head, killing it instantly. The death of the magical beast created a commotion within the group and they hurriedly fled in all directions in haste. Rain didn’t bother chasing them as he only wanted one. He then walks over and started dragging the monster.

“Rain, I’ll get that,”

A voice called out from behind.

When he turned around, he saw the beautiful Antman; Scarlet. She was almost akin to that of a centaur, but with a lower body of a giant ant.

They have a lazy nature, but after incorporating herself into the tribe, she started to become actively involved in several activities, though most of them were with him. Because of her innate superhuman strength, she was a good teammate. Nonetheless, it caused quite a commotion when she requested to be his official guardian whenever he went outside.

Many of the Lamians rejected instantly. But for some reason, Zarda agreed which was beyond his expectation. Well, after all, to the Lamians view, Scarlet was yet to be trusted. But Zarda’s acceptance somehow made Rain doubtful. Well, since she did this, she surely has some reasons. And besides, he was not that against being with Scarlet, so he accepted without hesitation.

Although she was strong, Scarlet dislike fighting, and for some reason, she has a very timid personality. Hence, she would leave the fighting to him while she would be the one to carry the prey they were hunting. Although she dislikes acting like a packhorse, she seemed to not mind it with him.

“Rain, are you okay?”

Lafetti came over dragging an over three-meter bull-like creature. Behind her was one other Lamian, Rain was familiar with; Granite. She was still as muscular as ever, even more so as Drova whose body perfection was already at the point of ideal for a female athlete.

Granite was like the difference between Dwayne Johnson’s physical build compared to Tom Cruise. But even still, it didn’t reduce her beauty and charm. Perhaps, beauty is an innate nature for a Lamian?

Rain’s current party consisted of him, Lafetti, Granite, and Scarlet. Though many wanted to join but with Granite and Lafetti’s ability, it was unnecessary to add more members.

“You succeeded,”

Lafetti smiled happily as she saw the Crystal Horn Deer in the back of Scarlet.

“But is one enough?” Rain asked. Although the deer was quite big, it was insufficient for the whole tribe.

“It’s fine,” Lafetti said with a faint smile.

“Actually, we only need its horn and, of course, meat and fur as well. Sarete wanted the horn, and because she wanted only a small amount, one deer is fine. The Crystal Horn deer has some problematic reproduction ability compared to other monsters. Because of that, it’s advisable to regulate their hunting. If not, we would risk the extinction of their species here in the forest. Besides, his Excellency Arfa would be displeased if we over-hunted monsters beyond our needs.”

“I see,”

… so it’s something like a balance in the ecosystem, is it?

After resting for a while, the four of them once again move, following the animal trail, and arrived at a wide clearing. They decided to first become familiar with the topography. They passed most of the monsters near the outskirts of the river and went deep into the forest. The paths were complicated and winding; the bushes were thick and seemed exceptionally dangerous.

While out exploring, the feral wolves and boars were of no threat to them. With an axe in one hand and a shield in the other, Granite seemed especially strong and valiant as she takes on the role of a wall that protects them from any charging monster. In fact, she looks like a guardian warrior that repels everything untowards the group.

As they were on their way back, Rain and the others took a detour and headed onto a smaller path where they encountered a group of monsters. Shortly after making swift work of those, they also started looting materials from them.

On the way as well, Rain found many medical kinds of grass, edible plants, and even many blood restoring grasses. Most of the blood restoring grass was found hidden under various shrubs. However there might also be dangerous beasts hiding there such as giant mantis, reaper rats, and many more, that was good at sneaking and ambushing kind of monsters.

Lafetti parted the shrubs, while Granite took the guard position. And once it was safe, Rain harvested the blood restoring grasses as well as some wild fruit. This forest is truly abundant with resources. The group walks through amidst the forest that was teeming with life, laughing and talking. Birds' chirps could be heard and small monsters jumped from one branch to another,

“What’s this?”

Suddenly something caught his attention. It was a rectangular-like object made of rock. It was covered with thick vines and overgrown plants. The smooth edges had withered, and it looked already old and tattered. However… is this a tomb?

But for who?

Rain stared at the tomb with a weird expression. For some reason, he felt as if he had seen it before…but where? When?

“Rain?”

“Lafetti, do you know whose grave is this?”

“No?”

Lafetti replied with a confused and doubtful expression.

“I rarely visit this part of the forest, after all, this is his Excellency Arfa’s territory. Normally, we can’t come here without any permission, or else we would risk making a Monster King angry. As for that, as far as I know, I don’t know. I haven’t even seen it before,”

“… …”

“Why is it? Is there something wrong with it?”

Rain shook his head.

“I don’t know…”

She’s right…what’s wrong with it? What’s wrong with a grave being here? It’s not like this place is not known by man. From what I heard, this place was once habitable by humans in ancient times and had become a battlefield. Having a grave or two should not be impossible.

But what is this feeling?

As if controlled by invisible hands, he couldn’t help but started walking towards it.

“Rain?!”

Lafetti hurriedly chased after him. Even Granite and Scarlet followed behind.

Rain started cleaning the grave, cutting the vines and the overgrown plants and bushes. The more he did it, the more the surface of the grave was seen, the stronger the strange painful feeling inside of him becomes. Because of this, his action becomes even more rapid and stronger, faster.

"Rain?! What are you doing?” Lafetti asked. However, looking at his solemn expression, she couldn’t help but follow what he was doing. Even Granite and Scarlet started clearing the area with strange expressions. What are they even doing?

“This is?!”

Rain’s eyes widened in shock and his body petrified.

“How…how is this possible?!”

His body trembled.

“Rain?! Rain!!”

Lafetti immediately supported Rain who almost staggered down, and look at him with an extremely worried expression.

“Is something wrong?!”

Then she turned towards the grave, but her brows furrowed in confusion.

She actually cannot understand what the characters negraved on the rock surface…it’s not the language of human, which she had already understand a bit, nor the language of Lamian or any of the Monster Language she knows. She can’t read it, but she started to feel something wrong.

What’s with his expression? It’s as if he had… just seen a ghost.

Rain broke free from her hold, and walked, albeit swaying towards the grave. His face was pale, losing any color. Then, plop, he kneeled in the ground just in front of it.

“In the memory… of,” he bit his lips before he continued. His voice cracked, as if something was stuck in his throat.

“…Rain Revert…”

He muttered while caressing the English alphabet that had been engraved in the surface of the rock.

“What?!”

Lafetti’s eyes widened in horror.

Can he read it? No more than that…what did he say? In the memory of…Rain Revert?! What the heck is he talking about?!

An anxious feeling crept into her heart and she hurriedly grabbed his shoulder in fear, of something indescribable. But Rain seemed to have not noticed her, nor her apprehension as his eyes were in a daze, focusing on the grave mark.

Written in an English Alphabet, Rain forgot about how such language exists in this world, as his attention was focused on the simple ‘In the memory of Rain Revert..’

Is this coincidence of similar names?

His heart throbbed violently. It’s as if his heart was trying to jump out of his chest. He heard some faint call of his name from behind him, even Lafetti tugging his shirt with panicking expression. But he still couldn’t move, react, or reply, somewhat dumb petrified in front of the grave. Then, his eyes went towards the last sentence that was written just below the- ‘In the memory of Rain Revert.’

“‘…To be, or not to be, that is the question,’ this is…?!”

His brows furrowed.

“William Shakespeare,” the moment he said that the grave suddenly startled emitting light.

It was dazzling and bright that he was caught off-guard, closing his eyes in pain.

“Rain!!!”

He heard his name being called anxiously by Lafetti, but when he tried to open his eyes, his mind turned dizzy and a sensation of falling struck him.

And everything went black.

… …